Savin Hill Beach/ McConnell Park

Not the nicest beach in the world, BUT, if you live in Dot., it’s super close and good enough. The water is really cloudy, but I feel like it never gets warm enough to go into the water in MA anymore.

It’s a good place to go grab some sun or take a walk on a beach at sunset, but I mean, you don’t want to swim there. I’ve gone kayaking off the beach, which is calmer than out on Boston Harbor, obviously, and it’s a great place to walk your dog.

Decently clean for an urban beach. Easy to find parking too!
We had plenty of room to lay out & get some sun, granted I was there on a random (but sunny) Thursday.

It’s so nice that they’re letting the marshy grass grow back. Good for birds and crustaceans, I bet.
Was here towards sunset the other night. Very pretty. You could almost ignore Route 93 and Morrissey Boulevard and think you were someplace worthy of a postcard.

This place is the jam for the 5:30 a.m. walk. Starka dog and I are the only ones there. There’s already a lot of cars cruising up 93-​N but she doesn’t seem to mind. We always pick up our poops, so if you see other bombs there, don’t blame us.
The 5:00 p.m. walk is a lot different. Lots of parents just home to play with their kiddos and dogs. Only a small percentage of us obey the leash law (if my pit bull didn’t, she’d be PUT DOWN, but apparently it’s okay for every other dog on the neighborhood to wander around the beach). The beach is fairly clean, not a lot of trash around. Plenty of trash bins along the walkway. There’s even a doggie-​bag dispenser on one of the lamp-​posts… but it’s filled up with empty «nips» and god knows what else. The playground looks nice and well taken care of; still has wood-​chips, not covered in safety-​rubber.
The walkway between the baseball field and Dot Yacht Club is littered with trash, and is not lit after the sun goes down/​before it comes up — so we steer clear of that area.
All and all, it’s a 4-​star park in the AM, a 3-​star park in the PM. I’m planning to get a trash-​pick (ala road-​side clean up crews) so that I can make the area better for us all.

Also known as Malibu Beach, this area you pass on Route 93 by the Dorchester Yacht Club is a combination of ball field, playground, beach and biking/​jogging area. Usually a great spot to check out the local softball and soccer games or walk the dog.
The beach is fairly clean; from Memorial Day to Labor day there are lifeguards with a coded flag to note if it’s safe to swim (although generally, don’t go in the water if it’s just rained.) Savin Hill Cove is on the other side of Morrissey Blvd where people boat. There’s quite a bit of wildlife to see, hermit and horseshoe crabs, the occasional jellyfish or egret. The beach gets really disgustingly mucky at low tide, but it’s pretty good at high tide.
The playground is a good time-​killer for the kids, although it’s starting to need some love – the swings might not be in the greatest shape and they seriously need new mulch. Also tends to get pretty littered with all kinds of stuff, especially if you go on a Sunday. «Stab-​and-​kill» gets a bad rap, but this park was a big plus when we bought our place since it’s also close to the T. I’ve spent many hours here with my kid and never felt too unsafe.